I know. With all the important wellness knowledge I could be sharing in my first post here at Alison’s List, I’m writing about clothes. Shallow, you say? Vain, perhaps?

My friend, if you have never had a baby, I have two words for you: stuff it.

And if you have had a baby, you know exactly why I’m writing about clothes right now. Clothing is a wellness issue. Because even if you have real, serious stuff going on in your life in the postpartum weeks and months–like say, caring for a new baby, navigating new marriage and family dynamics, recovering physically from birth, battling new and long-term health issues, watching your husband procrastinate on applying to graduate school, and saying goodbye to beloved family members–you still have to look at yourself in the mirror every day, and what you’re seeing now isn’t what you used to see, and you’re just so tired, and with everything else being crazy-crazy, well, that person, that thing, staring back at you in the mirror can be the last straw.

Actual Scene of Despair

Now, I realize that the days I’m depressed about my body are the days that I’m actually depressed about something else entirely, and I just land on my new body as a really good thing to shed a tear for. I’ll address all of that on my other blog because it’s kinda deep and complicated and not at all suited for this media outlet. Skipping ahead, then, to the part where I’ve already done my internal homework and have my heart adjusted, it’s still a wonderful, spirit-lifting thing to treat your body and yourself with compassion, respect, and a little admiration by dressing it nicely. It’s a tiny gift.